Houston E-Waste Disposal: The Four City Drop-Off Routes

Item: Residential electronics scrap — dead TVs and monitors, old desktops and laptops, printers, routers, cables, phones, servers and similar consumer devices — plus the batteries and chemicals that often get mixed into the same cleanout load Jurisdiction: City of Houston Solid Waste Management Department service area only — households inside the incorporated City that receive City services. Not the independent suburbs, and not unincorporated Harris County Official sources: City of Houston Solid Waste Management (Electronics & Recycling, Environmental Service Centers, Residential Recycling Centers, Heavy Trash, Household Hazardous Waste, Neighborhood Depository rules), Houston 3-1-1, TCEQ, Harris County Office of the County Engineer. Best Buy, Dell Reconnect and CompuCycle are labeled below as retailer and processor policies, not government programs Last verified: September 2026 · Next review: December 2026

Quick answer: Houston e-waste disposal at a glance

Houston does not collect electronics at the curb. A dead TV, an old laptop or a drawer of cables should not go in the garbage cart, into a heavy trash pile or to a Neighborhood Depository — all three refuse electronic scrap. Residential electronics go to one of four City of Houston routes instead, and which one works depends on where you live, what you are hauling and which day the site is open.

• No curbside electronics pickup. Electronics are excluded from the garbage cart, from heavy trash and from all six Neighborhood Depositories.
• Westpark Consumer Recycling Center, 5900 Westpark, Houston, TX 77057 — residential electronics at no additional charge. Currently posted Tuesday–Saturday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
• ESC South, 11500 S. Post Oak Rd., Houston, TX 77035 — Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
• ESC North, 5614 Neches St., Houston, TX 77026 — second Thursday of each month only, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
• Two monthly Saturday events, both 9 a.m.–3 p.m.: Kingwood Metro Transit Center / Park & Ride, 3210 W. Lake Houston Pkwy., 77339, first Saturday; Ellington/Clear Lake Neighborhood Recycling Center, 246 Loop Rd., 77034, second Saturday.
• No published fee at any City route. Westpark states electronics are accepted "at no additional charge," and the event flyers are headed "free e-waste recycling."
• Bring a current Texas-issued ID plus a current City of Houston utility bill or lease with a matching address. Two City pages describe the document rule differently, so bring both.
• Wipe your own data. The City's published preparation rule is to remove data before disposal, and no route guarantees destruction.
• Large or old TV? Call 3-1-1 first. Official sources state the size limit differently.

Quick facts

Where electronics go in Houston: the four City routes

Westpark Consumer Recycling Center, 5900 Westpark, 77057 — the Galleria-area site off the Southwest Freeway between Chimney Rock and Fountain View. The City's Electronics & Recycling page sends residential electronics here at no additional charge. The current recycling-centers page posts Tuesday–Saturday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; an older Westpark rules sheet for the same address says Monday–Saturday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Use the current page, but confirm by phone before you load, because the conflict is real. Westpark also takes batteries, oil, latex paint and antifreeze as separate streams, so a garage cleanout can often be handled in one trip.

Environmental Service Center – South, 11500 S. Post Oak Rd., 77035 — Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Best pick if your load mixes a monitor and a printer with paint, chemicals or rechargeable batteries, since the ESCs take household hazardous waste and residential electronic waste at the same site. Batteries accepted at the ESC are lead-acid and rechargeable types only. Business-generated waste is refused.

Environmental Service Center – North, 5614 Neches St., 77026 — second Thursday of the month only, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Fine for northside residents who plan around that weekday; wrong for anyone treating it as a normal drop-off. Otherwise use Westpark or ESC South.

The City does not publish a quantity or volume limit for electronics at any of these sites, so there is no cap to plan around — ask 3-1-1 if you are hauling an unusually large load.

The two monthly Saturday e-waste events

Kingwood runs on the first Saturday, Clear Lake/Ellington on the second Saturday, both 9 a.m.–3 p.m., with no appointment described.

• Kingwood Metro Transit Center / Park & Ride, 3210 W. Lake Houston Pkwy., Houston, TX 77339
• Ellington/Clear Lake Neighborhood Recycling Center, 246 Loop Rd., Houston, TX 77034

Two cautions. First, the official event flyers are dated 2020 and carry pandemic-era instructions, so use them for location and the time window only. Second, the current City pages do not say whether those two sites take electronics during their regular recycling-center hours or only during the monthly events. Do not assume an off-Saturday trip will be accepted — ask 3-1-1. Whether the events are restricted to City of Houston residents is also not stated on the current page, so treat residency as a question to confirm rather than a published rule.

Which route fits your situation?

For a City household with a normal load, the choice is geography and timing, not money: all four City routes are resident services with no published fee. Westpark and ESC South have the widest windows, ESC North is the tightest in the system, and each Saturday event is locked to one morning on one side of town.

What the City accepts — and what it will not take

Accepted: computers, routers, laptops, power cords, UPS units, cellular phones, VCRs, scrap wire, monitors, hubs, printers, cables, servers, DVD players, cable boxes, ink jet cartridges, TVs (current page: CRT up to 36 inches), mice and keyboards, switches, fax machines, telephones, toner cartridges, copiers.

Not accepted: vacuum cleaners, CRT TVs larger than 36 inches, weed eaters, radios, thermostats, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, fluorescent bulbs, major appliances (refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers, freezers), clocks, paint cans, game consoles, irons, microwaves, medical and biohazard waste, household alkaline batteries (AA/AAA/C/D/9V), space heaters, rice cookers, air conditioners, oil waste.

Three exclusions catch people out. Alkaline batteries do not belong in an e-waste load — separate them; only lead-acid and rechargeable batteries are taken at the ESC. Game consoles, radios and thermostats are refused, even though they are electronics by any reasonable definition. And appliances follow their own rules entirely: a refrigerator, stove, microwave or air conditioner needs its own channel, not an electronics box. The site's Houston appliance disposal and paint disposal guides cover those items, and the furniture disposal guide covers the bulk items that usually leave the house in the same cleanout.

The TV size rule: call before hauling a big screen

Official City material disagrees with itself here:

• The current Electronics & Recycling page accepts CRT TVs up to 36 inches and rejects CRT TVs larger than 36 inches.
• The official Kingwood and Clear Lake event flyers state CRT TVs up to 27 inches and flat screens up to 50 inches.

Both figures come from City documents and are not interchangeable, and no consolidated size-and-weight page exists. If your TV is large, heavy or a CRT, call 3-1-1 and confirm the current limit for the site you plan to use before lifting it into a vehicle. The City also states that TVs must not be broken down or stripped, and that weight limits and restrictions apply at the ESCs.

Why not the curb: garbage, heavy trash and the depositories

• Garbage cart: electronics are not an accepted cart item.
• Heavy trash: the City page is direct — "Do not set out household hazardous waste or electronic scrap for heavy trash. Take these items to an Environmental Service Center."
• Neighborhood Depositories: all six reject "TVs and other electronics."
• Apartment dumpster: complexes and businesses receive private collection, and e-waste is frequently excluded from valet and compactor service.

One piece of framing matters here: Texas has no statewide residential e-waste landfill ban. TCEQ states household hazardous waste, including electronics, is exempt from hazardous waste permitting and disposal rules, and that most of it can go in regular trash. Houston's no-curbside rule is a local service rule about how the City collects — not a state law that makes home disposal of a device a crime.

Who may use these City routes

City of Houston residents with household material only. Three boundaries decide it:

1. Address — you must be inside the incorporated City of Houston and receiving City services. Sugar Land, Katy, Pasadena, Pearland, Baytown, Bellaire and West University Place run their own programs.
2. The eight-unit line — City ordinance (Chapter 39) limits SWMD service to single-family homes and multi-family properties of eight units or fewer. Larger buildings get private collection and no City curbside route.
3. Household, not business — business waste is refused, and so are loads arriving in a commercial vehicle, including a rented commercial vehicle. Landlord, property-management and contractor electronics do not qualify.

The drop-off sites stay usable by renters and by residents of larger buildings even when curbside service does not apply — that is what the address documents are for.

Free alternatives: manufacturer take-back and retailer drop-off

Manufacturer take-back is a legal right in Texas. Under the Texas Recycles Computers program (created by HB 2714, 2007), manufacturers selling new computer equipment in or into Texas must offer free, convenient recycling for their own brand, for equipment bought primarily for personal or home-business use — defined as a monitor, a desktop or laptop, and an accompanying keyboard and mouse by the same maker. A separate Texas Recycles TVs program covers televisions with a brand-by-brand recycler list. TCEQ lists these programs and answers questions at recycle@tceq.texas.gov or 512-239-0010, but provides no recycling service itself.

Retailer and charity drop-off. Best Buy accepts consumer electronics for recycling, intended for residents only and not for business or organizational products; item limits apply, and the store states that some items may incur a fee while others are free. Dell Reconnect, run with Goodwill, takes any brand in any condition, free, at participating Goodwill locations — you erase the data first and get no hard-drive destruction confirmation. These are retailer and charity policies, not government programs, so call the store before you drive over. Other national retailers are unverified as Houston e-waste drop-off points.

Private processor option. CompuCycle, the R2/e-Stewards processor the City names as the collector at its monthly events, also lists free weekday residential drop-off at its Houston facility, 8019 Kempwood Dr., Houston, TX 77055. That is a company policy rather than a City program, and it is worth a call before you rely on it — but it is a practical option for readers outside City limits or in buildings the City routes do not reach.

State and county context

Texas has no statewide residential e-waste landfill ban — see the TCEQ position above. And Harris County Household Hazardous Waste accepts no electronics at all: no computers, TVs, DVRs or radios. HazMobile events require an appointment and are open only to residents of unincorporated Harris County, outside the incorporated City of Houston. The county closure line is 346-286-4294.

Apartments, renters and buildings over eight units

• Your lease is a valid access document. Proof of address at City facilities accepts a current lease or rental agreement alongside a matching Texas ID, so a tenant with no utility bill in their own name can still use the drop-off route. Out-of-state students at Houston universities may use a current student ID instead of a utility bill, and out-of-state property owners can use a current property tax bill matching their photo ID.
• Buildings over eight units have no City curbside route, including for electronics — self-haul to an ESC, Westpark or a monthly event.
• Follow the property's private-hauler rules too. E-waste is often excluded from valet and compactor service, and the renter usually has to transport the device.
• Do not move building-wide or landlord electronics, and do not arrive in a commercial or rented commercial vehicle — those loads are refused.
• Moving out? Clear electronics before the lease ends. Devices left by a shared dumpster will not be collected, and refused material can come back against a deposit.

Prep before your electronics leave the house

1. Build an item list and check it against the accepted and refused lists before loading.
2. Pull out household alkaline batteries — they are not accepted with electronics.
3. Back up and wipe every device. Factory-reset phones and tablets, and erase drives where practical.
4. Do not strip or dismantle anything, especially a TV.
5. Box or bag the load and expect to unload it yourself.
6. Bring a current Texas ID plus a current utility bill or lease with a matching address.
7. For a large or heavy TV, call 3-1-1 for the current size and weight limits.
8. Arrive at least 30 minutes before closing, and early within the short ESC North and Saturday-event windows. Recycling centers allow up to four visits a month.
9. If the device still works, consider donation, trade-in or the state take-back route first.

Safety and data caveats

• Do not break or dismantle CRT screens or tubes — broken tubes release hazardous material and cut skin. Handle cracked screens with gloves.
• Get help lifting a CRT — these units are heavy and awkward.
• Wipe data before handing anything over and assume no route guarantees destruction. The City's published preparation rule is to remove data before disposal.
• Keep alkaline batteries out of an electronics load, or the load can be refused.
• Never leave electronics by a dumpster or at the curb hoping a hauler takes them.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Setting a TV or computer out with heavy trash, or taking one to a Neighborhood Depository.
• Assuming a large TV is fine because a smaller one fit last time.
• Arriving at ESC North on a Tuesday, or at Kingwood on the third Saturday.
• Assuming Kingwood and Clear Lake take electronics on any normal open day.
• Showing up with only a Texas ID when the site may also want a matching utility bill or lease.
• Trusting a fee, size limit or quantity cap from a third-party page — none is published for City e-waste routes.

Official verification checklist

1. Confirm your address is inside the incorporated City of Houston and receives City services.
2. Count the units at your building: eight or fewer on City service can use curbside service; more than eight rely on private collection, though drop-off sites remain usable with matching proof of address.
3. Confirm the current hours of your site: Westpark (Tue–Sat 8–5), ESC South (Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat 8–5), ESC North (second Thursday, 9–3).
4. Confirm which Saturday the next event falls on for your side of town, and ask 3-1-1 whether Kingwood and Clear Lake take electronics outside event windows.
5. For a large or CRT TV, confirm the current size and weight limit with 3-1-1.
6. Check your item list, wipe data, and do not strip anything.
7. Assemble a current Texas ID plus a current utility bill or lease with a matching address.
8. Call 3-1-1 — or the SWMD service request status line, 832-394-1453, weekdays 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. — about hours, event dates, residency eligibility and any quantity limit.

Jurisdiction: what this guide covers

This page covers the City of Houston SWMD service area only. Neighboring incorporated cities are separate jurisdictions with their own programs and rules. Unincorporated Harris County runs HazMobile for household hazardous waste only, with no electronics, and its events are open only to county residents outside the city. City curbside service stops at buildings of more than eight units. Even inside the city, apartment management, landlords, HOAs and private haulers can add their own rules. Hours, event dates and size limits change — verify with the City before you act.

FAQ

Can Houston pick up my old TV or computer at the curb? No. Electronics are excluded from the garbage cart, from heavy trash and from all six Neighborhood Depositories. The City directs them to an Environmental Service Center or one of the other drop-off routes above.

Does it cost anything? No fee is published for any City e-waste route. Retailer programs may charge for some items, so confirm with the store before you go.

Can I put my old TV out with heavy trash? No. The heavy trash page says not to set out electronic scrap and to take those items to an Environmental Service Center instead.

How big a TV will they take? The current electronics page says CRT up to 36 inches. The older event flyers say CRT up to 27 inches and flat screens up to 50 inches. Call 3-1-1 before hauling a large TV.

I live in a 60-unit apartment. Can I still drop off a laptop? Yes. Bring a current Texas ID and a lease with a matching address to a City drop-off site. What you cannot do is rely on any City curbside collection at your building.

Do I have to wipe my own hard drive? Yes. The City's published rule is to remove data before disposal, and no route guarantees destruction. Back up and factory-reset first.

Is it illegal to throw away a computer in Texas? No. Texas has no statewide residential e-waste landfill ban, and TCEQ states household electronics can go in regular trash. Houston simply does not collect electronics curbside and directs residents to drop-off instead.

What about a game console, a microwave or an air conditioner? None of those are accepted as electronics. Consoles, radios, thermostats, microwaves and air conditioners are on the refused list; major appliances need their own disposal route. Check the accepted and refused lists above before loading.

Can I bring my business's or landlord's old computers? No. City facilities accept household material only, business waste is refused, and loads arriving in a commercial or rented commercial vehicle are turned away.

Official sources

City of Houston:

• Electronics & Recycling: https://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/ewaste.html
• Environmental Service Centers: https://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/esc.html
• Residential Recycling Centers: https://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/recycling_centers.html
• Heavy Trash Collection: https://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/treewaste.html
• Household Hazardous Waste: https://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/hhw.html
• Solid Waste Management Department: https://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/
• Green Houston FAQ (eight-unit rule): https://greenhoustontx.gov/faq.html
• Online 3-1-1 portal: https://houston311.powerappsportals.us/en-US/
• ESC Standard Operating Rules (PDF): https://houstontx.gov/solidwaste/pdf_files/001_ESC_08162016_(v7).pdf
• Westpark rules (PDF): https://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/pdf_files/008_Westpark_rules_11232016(v5).pdf
• Kingwood event flyer (PDF): https://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/e-waste_kingwood09212020.pdf
• Clear Lake event flyer (PDF): https://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/e-waste_clearlak09212020.pdf
• Neighborhood Depository rules (PDF): https://houstontx.gov/solidwaste/depository-rules.pdf

State and county:

• TCEQ, Texas Recycles Computers: https://tceq.texas.gov/p2/recycle/electronics/computer-recycling.html
• TCEQ, Texas Recycles TVs: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/p2/recycle/electronics/tv_recycling.html
• TCEQ, e-recycling regulations: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assistance/industry/e-recycling/e-recycling-regs.html
• Harris County HHW FAQ: https://oce.harriscountytx.gov/Services/Household-Hazardous-Waste/FAQ
• Harris County HazMobile: https://oce.harriscountytx.gov/Services/Household-Hazardous-Waste/HazMobile-Event-Precinct-4

Retailer and processor policy — not government sources:

• Best Buy electronics recycling: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/services/recycling/pcmcat149900050025.c?id=pcmcat149900050025
• Dell Reconnect (Dell + Goodwill): https://www.dell.com/en-us/lp/dell-reconnect
• CompuCycle Saturday recycling events: https://compucycle.com/saturday-electronic-recycling-events

Hours, event dates, accepted items and size limits change, and official City pages do not always agree. Confirm hours, the next event Saturday, residency eligibility and the TV size limit with Houston 3-1-1 — or the SWMD service request status line at 832-394-1453 — before you load the car.